Guard



Mal 'ch 31, 1942. D, PATRCK AL 2,278,091

GUARD Filed Sept. 25, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 attowwgs Patented Mar. 31, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUARD Rex D. Patrick and Bill Economopulos, Bluefield, Va.

Application September 25, 1941, Serial No. 412,382

7 Claims.

tool from striking and injuring the person operating the tool.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a device of the character stated which will conform to the work with a gripping action to sustain itself in proper place on the work and has provision for exposing a portion of the Work in such a way as to permit cutting thereof with a tool and at the same time confining the cuttings from the work to prevent such cuttings from escaping and injuring the operator and also will assist the operator in the movement of the tool over the work for the proper or desired cutting of said work.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of our invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating a guard constructed in accordance with our invention and showing the same applied to a fragmentary portion of a railroad rail.

Figure 2 is a top plan View illustrating the device applied to the railroad rail.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view showing the device applied to a fragmentary portion of a rail.

Figure 6 is a perspective View illustrating the guard or protector removed from the rail.

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line extending through the cutting groove of the device.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates a guard constructed of rubber or any other material suitable for the purpose and capable of having a limited flexation and is shaped to conform to the contour of a railroad rail 6,

that is, the guard 5 includes a portion 1 conforming to the ball 8 of the rail, a portion 9 conforming to the web II] of the rail 6 and a portion II conforming to the base l2 of the rail.

The portions 7, 9 and l I are of integral construction and have extending therethrough metallic reinforcing elements l3 of a flexible nature, however, having sufiicient rigidity to assist in maintaining the guard in its proper l shape.

The guard is provided with a tool slot I4 extending vertically through the portion 9 into the portion 1 and also into the portion I l of the guard. Said slot will permit a chisel or like tool to operate against a selected area of the rail for the purpose of severing the rail transversely. The walls of the slot extending through the portion 9 are beveled, as shown at l5, for the purpose of permitting the tool to freely enter the slot and provide portions I6 along the slot which will readily flex for the purpose of permitting cuttings to work between the guard and the rail and enter channels or grooves I! formed in the portion 9. The channels or grooves extend entirely the full length of the portion 9 and also extend into the part 1 and a portion of the part II. The cuttings entering the channels or grooves may work downwardly toward the lower ends thereof and finally discharge out onto the ground adjacent the rail.

By referring to Figure 4 it will be seen that a tool working on the rail within the slot will frictionally contact the flexible portions l6 so that any cuttings leaving the rail by the action of the tool thereon will be prevented from flying directly outwardly against the operator and eliminate the possibility of injury from flying particles. Also, it will be seen that the tool entering and operating within the slot will be to some extent guided in its operation of cutting by the guard being applied to the rail as shown and described heretofore in detail. This will greatly assist the operator in cutting the rail transversely on a selected line, as the guard can be applied to the rail exposing a portion of the rail where the cut is desired to be made.

A device of the character described and shown in the drawings will be extremely durable, easy to apply to a railroad rail at the place or point of location of the rail which may be upon a railroad bed so that cutting of the rail can be accurately and quickly carried out with a maximum amount of safety to the operator from flying cuttings.

While we have shown and described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described the invention, What we claim is:

1. In a guard, a protecting member shaped to fit work to be cut by a hand operated tool and having a tool slot exposing a portion of the work to be cut and receiving the tool for action on said work and guidance relative thereto with only sunicient clearance for the tool to prevent hindrance of the movement of the tool and thereby permitting said member to act in preventing cuttings from the work striking an operator of the tool.

2. In a guard, a resilient member shaped to fit a railroad rail including a ball engaging portion, a web engaging portion and a base engaging portion, said member having a tool receiving slot exposing a portion of the rail to be severed permitting said member to act in preventing cuttings from the rail from striking an operator of the tool.

3-, In a ua d a i ie t mem e shape to fi a railroad ra l udin a a a in p rt on, a Web en a n po t on and a se n a ing po tion, said member having a tool receiving slot exposing a portion of the rail to be severed permitting said member to act in preventing cuttings from the rail from striking an operator of the tool, and causing said cuttings to move between portions thereof and the rail, said member having channels opposing the rail to receive the cuttings.

4 In a guard, a resilient member shaped to fit T a railroad railincluding a ball engaging portion, a web engaging portion and a base engaging portion, said member having a tool receiving slot exposing a portion of the rail to be severed permitting said member to act in preventing cuttings from the rail from striking an operator of the tool, and causing said cuttings to move between portions thereof and the rail, said member having channels opposing the rail to receive the cuttings,

opposed walls of said tool receiving slot being beveled and defining flexible portions for said member lying between the slot and the channels and normally contacting the rail and capable of flexing to permit passing of the cuttings into said channels.

5. In a guard, a resilient member shaped to fit a railroad rail including a ball engaging portion, a web engaging portion and a base engaging portion, said member having a tool receiving slot exposing a portion of the rail to be severed permitting said member to act in preventing cuttings from the rail from striking an operator of the tool and causing said cuttings to move between portions thereof and the rail, said member having channels opposing the rail to receive the cuttings, opposed walls of said tool receiving slot being beveled and defining flexible portions for said member lying between the slot and the channels and normally contacting the rail and capable of flexing to permit passing of the cuttings into said channels, reinforcing elements embedded in said member at opposite sides of the tool slot.

6. In a guard, a resilient member shaped to fit a railroad rail including a ball engaging portion, a web engaging portion and a base engaging portion, said member having a tool receiving slot exposing a portion of the rail to be severed permitting said member to act in preventing cuttings from the rail from striking an operator of the tool and causing said cuttings to move between portions thereof and the rail, said member having channels opposing the rail to receive the cuttings, opposed walls of said tool receiving slot being beveled and defining flexible portions for said member lying between the slot and the channels and normally contacting the rail and capabl of flexing to permit passing of the cuttings into said channels, reinforcing elements embedded in said member at opposite sides of the tool slot, said slot extending from end to end of the web engaging portion and entering the ball engaging portion and the base engaging portion.

7. In a combined guard and guide, a resilient member applicable to a rail transversely thereof and shaped to conform to said rail and sustaining its position on the rail by a gripping action, said member having a tool slot for exposing a portion of the rail to be cut and provided with channels opposing the rail and lying at opposite sides and close to the tool slot to receive cuttings.

REX D. PATRICK. BlLL ECONOMOPULOS. 

